Dashain is the biggest festival in Nepal and it is also the longest government holiday. Apart from being a religious festival of worshiping Goddess Durga, the festival has emerged as the festival of reunion with friends and families.

This year’s Dashain started on October 16 and will end on October 29. As the days are determined by lunar calendar, the calendar dates are different every year. The main day of Dashain, Vijaya Dashami (On October 24) is celebrated by having red ‘tika’ on forehead and ‘Jamara’ on ears/hair from elders. Eating delicacy in Dashain is another ritual.

Other attractions of the festival include flying kites (specially in Kathmandu), playing custom made swings (linge ping and rote pings), playing cards (playing for fun).

Here are photos of Keki Adhikari showing her gifts in envelopes and Binita Baral receiving Dashain Tika in Chitwan on October 24th. The ritual continues till the end on October 29. (More photos of other artists are available in xnepali).